Fit for Queen B

Two jewelry designers have found their aesthetic—and a famous fan

As Madonna made lastingly clear, to grow up Catholic is to have a wealth of highly visual references at one’s fingertips. For Sabine Le Guyader and Jill Martinelli of the up-and-coming jewelry line Lady Grey, who met in art school and bonded over their early training as dental prosthetic makers, this imagery has been a goldmine of tongue-in-chic inspirations. The pair’s spring 2014 collection is a darkly elegant interpretation of such redoubtable church iconography as the martyred virgin Saint Lucy, who is often depicted carrying her eyeballs on a platter; according to Catholic lore this is either because a) they were gouged by the Romans or b) she herself plucked them out to discourage an admiring suitor. Their interpretation comes in the form of a crushed jet cat’s eye pendant that is available in gold or silver. But the runaway success so has been the four-finger gold ring that echoes the latticed doors of confessionals. Its star status comes courtesy of Lady Grey fan Beyoncé, who seems never to take hers off. “We had imagined this ring on her from the first day we finished the model!” says Le Guyader. “It was like a premonition come true.”